Knights of the Galaxy
by TaleTellerBCB
Summary: Two VRMMO entrepreneurs have created the World's Biggest & most Beautiful VR Game of all Time. With Incredibly smart A.I's several classes to choose from, and an entire galaxy to explore, It's worldwide release sells Millions. (I'm sadden to say that Alicization arc must conclude if the story is to continue cannon wise and have great potential for a sequel.)
1. Prologue

Prologue.

 _January 31, 2025._

 _3 years, 3 long years since the release of Sword Art Online. It was probably the biggest game release of it's time, and unfortunately it was the biggest video game tragedy as well. I remember getting one of the rare hard copies when it was released, in fact I got the last one at the game store I went to. If it were not for my ignorant boss I had as a waiter, I too would have been stuck in that game of death. He expected me to grovel at his feet for that and shortly after I threw a customer's food in his face and left. My best friend was stuck in that game, and and by the grace of God he made it back. I took him out to dinner to our favorite restaurant when we were kids, to spoil him and stuff like that, for old time's sake. He explained that while the world of Aincrad was dangerous and on the first day everyone was afraid of dying, that same dangerous world was breathtakingly beautiful. A part of me wished I could have seen it myself._

 _As the wave of nostalgia hit us so did something else, He mentioned that we onced wanted to develop a game of our own. We both decided of all things, it needed to be a VRMMO. Since something called the World Seed was previously released that allowed you to create your own Virtual World I had already started working on a massive project but wanted to surprise him. Something pried at the back of my mind. Yes the World Seed was a fantastic gift by a person guised under the name Kirito, who eventually was the hero of Sword Art Online, but for the project I had in mind, it was nowhere near enough data I needed. Fate yielded my reward, as my friend was exceptionally talented in this field of Computer science. He looked it over a few days ago and was able to do something amazing, the Seed exploded into something more with a few extra algorithms thrown in. Instead of a single world. It could generate much, much more. After paying him nearly $200 I made him repeat the process again, and again. Each one of these new seeds were different and creating more than just worlds, new NPC's were generated and not just human, probably over 100 new species of NPC's were made as well. He also added a randomizing engine that He designed when he was younger. Of all things it helped us study for school by randomly generating questions for a chosen subject. The guy was a wiz to say the least, there was really only one problem, The Game entirely would be massive, taking nearly half a Terabyte of data just to run, thankfully Computer's now can hold such massive programs. I designed the game to be very much different from what was popular today, such as Alfheim Online and Sword Art Online were fantasy games, we both decided to focus heavily on the Sci-Fi genre and spent months studying on the sciences of astronomy, and that the story would be a player's main objective to beat the game. Yes they are oddball choices but with just how big this game will be, it will be worth it. After I explained everything the next time we met afterwards, my friend was on board and fell in love with the idea._

 _We have everything the connections, the money, the will, the story, only one thing was left, a name. My friend came up with it and the slogan for when we would release the game privately. and it was fabulous. I would take a few days to myself and create a Teaser Trailer for the game and when only a month remained a full trailer of the game would be released sharing only the bare minimum. The game will be bigger than any VRMMO will ever be and thanks to my father who runs a shipping company we can ship it worldwide. The player wont have just a single world to explore. Now? They have a whole Galaxy with thousands, no Millions of planets and stars to explore and a pretty catchy slogan... A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…._

 _~Dante Russo_


	2. Chapter 1: Negotiations

"There, all done." Dante exclaimed as he closed his laptop. Dante had come from a wealthy family based in New York City in a massive penthouse. His Mother passed away in the hospital after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. With the extra bit of life insurance money, he and his father were able to upgrade their lives. He never saw it as a malicious act, but upgrading apartments and using the money to pay off school bills was a pretty good use of the cash. At least, that's what he thought when he explained it to his lifelong friend Alex who helped him design the game. Alex was the one who was able to create a majority of the content of their game they both spent about 2 years making. Alex had short wavy black hair and was Italian with a bit of Hispanic and Jewish in him, making him an oddball combination, such as Dante was being a mix of Italian, french, dutch, and german. Both grew up together and were equally fit and Dante being just an inch taller. While Alex has the artistic brains, it was Dante who had the connections. His father owned a company with hundreds of dedicated servers, a gaming company named Maelstrom. His father promised Dante and Alex that if their game could be completed within a two-year span and have an advertising campaign ready, he would have his company run this game of theirs, somehow they pulled it off. They got sponsors as they previewed the game during their many meetings, which to say the least went beautifully. Dante decided to keep this big project of theirs a secret from the public eye for 4 months after 2026. His father questioned the idea of releasing in April during the middle of the school year for Americans. Though Dante was focussing on the release being worldwide. Something his Father questioned as well but left the decision to them.

Dante and Alex though agreed that they needed to at least hint at the game's arrival a few days prior the trailers they took a lot of time to make, deciding that MMO Tomorrow was best. Alex agreed to create an account and post a headline about it tonight. Dante requested the administrators for it to be the top leading post for a few days. Thankfully they agreed given the topic and them having to say that it's a new game secretly being made to be the largest VRMMO to exist, and so far they were right. No other game was this big. It was a single terabyte of data, which takes up a large chunk of computer storage now today. Dante picked up a silver CD which contained the game itself on a hard copy, that was ejected from his laptop shortly prior to him closing it. His mind raced as he felt a bit empty inside. He wanted to do something to make the game more memorable. He scratched his curly brown hair as he picked up his phone and began to text Alex. Idea's came to mind, almost wanting to change a few things in the game, but he saw no potential gain with the time remaining till its release. Alex then texted back with the perfect answer.

Alex: Do you remember those kids that played Sword Art Online?

Dante: Yes?

Alex: Why not send a few hard copies of the game, we already know it works since we beta-tested it ourselves constantly during the final months of progress, so send a few hard copies and to make sure no one gets ahead we will have a note and a the grand ceremony we have prior to official launch will hold them prior to the official release online. That way we keep everyone starts on the same page.

Dante: Alex that's genius, but there are over 5,000 survivors.

Alex: Just hand out like 20, we will think of something right?

Dante leaned back in his leather chair looking towards his AmuSphere. Sword Art Online both revolutionized and nearly destroyed virtual gaming. Kayaba was a genius for such a game, but he was demonized for the deaths that occurred. Dante still had idolized him for developing something so amazing, which his father had major concerns for. He then re-opened his laptop and opened up a browser, typing " _Famous survivors of Sword Art Online."_ He continued to search until a few names had popped up that interested him. He jotted them down at random, his dark brown eye continued to scan the screen until a few struck out to him. Apparent legends in the game such as a woman with the alias of _Lightning Flash._ He never met her in any game, but he certainly heard a lot about her. With the sound of his father walking in his pen dropped rolling until it tapped against a glass of texas style sweet tea. His dad had grey short hair, the same length as Dante's but towered over his son. To the point where his forehead met his father's chin. Dante couldn't be prouder of his father who had supported him during his mother's death and continues to support him during the games production. He walked in with a hot bowl of Velveeta mac and cheese. The shell noodles drenched in the packaged cheese it came with. While the two could always dine out if they pleased, it was nice to have something simple every once in a while, his father knew that.

"Whatcha got there bud?" He asked.

"Oh, we just were going to give a handful of hard copies away is all, just jotting down a few names, they're going to the Sword Art Online Survivors. Alex suggested it and I'm about to cook up a program in these hard copies that make it a complete game they still have to wait for the grand ceremony to take place." He looked up to his father to see what he would think. His father was head of Maelstrom, might as well get a third opinion from a hardened professional.

"That's not a bad idea Dante though you will have to contact some important people down in Japan. Going to take a day's worth of phone calls. Those people are pretty safeguarded by the government over there. If you can cram that kind of time into before the trailer release then I'd say go for it. If you do make the giveaway's there going to act suspicious, so tell them everything. Make sure to say that you're with Maelstrom and if I get a call from them then that tells me they are being extra careful. I made you some mac and cheese and treat yourself to the leftovers in the fridge tonight, I will be gone all day." With that. His father left the room after they both waved bye.

Dante's gears were fully rotating, no, they were going into overtime. His Father was right. If they are to get this game, their suspicions would skyrocket maybe even to the point that they never play it. He couldn't let that happen. His eyes darted to the plus sign on the browsers upper right corner and searched _Japan's Leaders of the Tech bureau of Ministry of internal affairs and communications._ Simultaneously scarfing down his Mac and Cheese he browsed Japan's Tech bureau's home page with little to no result. Then he found him Leader of the Virtual Reality Section. He wore glasses before his gray eyes and had bangs with his black like hair, wearing a classic suit and tie. His name was Seijirou Kikuoka, and it had contact information. It was, of course, a Japanese telephone number, and email. He hopefully understood English well because Dante didn't know a lick of Japanese. He was very glad that the game had a few powerful set of in-game tools at a player's disposal, one that impressed all of the business associates during their meetings.

The Galnet-communicator or G.C. for short, translated all interactive speech into the players suggested language, though didn't sound robotic and plastic, but with real-time emotion. After all the game had a massive core A.I. that was on par with the Cardinal System that Kayaba had created. He only had heard rumors of the Cardinal System from Alfheim Online, but it was all he had going for to beat it. This core A.I. system had everything from randomizing quests and item drops to the massive storyline that Alex and Dante wrote out for it to follow. The game was based on the community to work together and complete the story a grand quest that molded the game around it. This choice is a massive risk. If it fails the game fails, though Alfheim Online is able to do such a thing. Dante continued to review the game in his head. Graphics were gorgeous, storyline was phenomenal, no bugs, classes that the players can choose from we're just fine. There seemed to be nothing new to add. With that, Dante opened up his email account and began to type a message to Kikuoka.

" _Dear Mr. Kikuoka,"_

" _I understand that you are the leader of the VR section for Japan's Tech Bureau of internal affairs and communications. I conclude that you were the person to contact to get our product to the right people under these names from their SAO avatar names._

 _My name is Dante Russo, son of Maelstrom C.E.O Bryan Russo. Within the past two years, a friend of mine named Alexander Kennedy, along with my father's professional support have created the largest VRMMORPG most beautiful game that will ever release the map is not a single world like Alfheim but many more. We are aiming for a worldwide release of April 23rd' 2026 and have yet to release any major information due to the secrecy of this project, you are the first, outside of meetings and board of directors, to find out about its production. I would like for you to mail a few of the only hard copies that will be released to the suggested names. Klein_

 _Agil_

 _Lisbeth_

 _Asuna (Lightning Flash?)_

 _Silica_

The list went on, with 18 names according to what Dante found. He took a sip of his sweet tea he had with him as he finished his mac and cheese. He was still skeptical as to whether Kikuoka was legit or not, but his reputation and biography on the website's home page seemed to check out. His mind went to the left as his Flatscreen T.V. at the other side of his room lit up with the famous Bullet of Bullets tournament. Dante loved to watch competitions on VR games and Gun Gale Online was one of the biggest professional games online now. The Bullet of Bullets was a sort of last man standing tournament to see who was top dog in the game. He waited till the very end to see who was left standing, because he was to preoccupied with finishing his game, and that he totally forgot that the T.V. was on to begin with. 3 names struck out to him. Sinon, Sterben and Kirito… Kirito?

Dante looked at his other open browser tab, and Kirito was the last name on the list. He pulled up his email to Kikuoka and was about to type Kirito's name, but stopped. Dante decided that whoever would win the bullet of bullets and the next runner up (depending on their performance in their final moments in-game) would receive the last hard copies. He looked back at the black long haired avatar. Red neon marks all over his body, they were damages given by the avatar Sterben. Kirito was wielding a purple laser sword while Sterben wielded a small metal estoc who quoted that it was created from the hull of a space battleships armor. Something else struck at Dante, the laser blade that Kirito was wielding. Concerns grew in his head. It's almost exactly like the weapon a certain class uses that the player can choose from. The last thing he wanted to do was get his father's company into legal trouble with Zaxar who ran GGO. Dante avoided such a thought with one argument sentence. They may act the same but they are totally different. In GGO it was just a weapon but in his game that single blade or _Lightsaber_ as what Dante named it was almost a religious tradition. Crafting the blade alone made you go to a planet and quote a sacred vow to that classes allegiance. Thinking ahead, Dante nearly missed the final blow… Kirito's saber slicing through Sterben, cutting him in half by the waist. His disassembled body tumbling into the desert sand. Dante let out a scuff as he took another sip of his tea. Sterben, german for "to die", must have been an extra cocky kid thinking he could be a smart ass and a big shot at the same time, sort of like the XeXed person he viewed the last Bullet of Bullets. Dante was tapping his fingers, wanting to see what happens next, then he did. Sinon and Kirito were just standing there talking. Waiting to see who would emerge as the victor, until Sinon pulled out a present grenade and both were killed. Dante just reared up and put a smile on his face. To take death in such a way was sort of poetic. He looked towards his Laptop and wrote in one last sentence towards his email.

" _P.S. Include the following champions of the recent Bullet of Bullets Tournament._

 _Sinon_

 _Kirito._

" _If you have any questions please contact me by my phone number…"_

 _Sincerely,_

 _~Dante Russo"_

Dante took a quick breather hesitating at first for a minute, then pressed send. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he sighed in relief. He stared up at his beige ceiling watching the fan rotate. His room was always cold. He didn't mind, though, he was used to it. After all, his mother always kept their home cool. He looked back towards his laptop for a few moments then back to the CD. That single CD Contained a Galaxy of quests characters and a story that will go down in time for generations to come. It held his future. He glanced back at the image of Kikuoka, grunting to himself. He pondered still if he did the right thing. This was the only other thing he did without consulting Alex first, aside from Generating the Core A.I. System. He also was concerned for the A.I. to some degree, thinking that it was too powerful that the two Game Masters should have some power and not slave themselves to the core system. He and Alex had already discussed that it was too far into the game to make any big time changes to its core algorithms and processes. Messing with the Core A.I. could spell disaster for the game as a whole. He glanced back towards Kikuoka's email. If anything he wanted an email reply that simply stated that he had the wrong person, secrecy was about to go out the window for the game anyway. What he didn't expect was his laptop chiming his selected email received tone. His eyes popped open wide, opening the email and reading that it was in fact from Kikuoka himself.

 _Dear Dante Russo,_

" _I am quite surprised to receive your email. I am aware of Maelstrom, and that they are the largest Gaming company in America, specializing in MMO's and RPG's. I was not aware they were attempting VR content just yet. I can tell that you mean business with your professional email's tone though I'm concerned, especially since you sworn secrecy to such a groundbreaking (as you claim) VRMMO Game. I will call you in a few hours given that in the U.S. it will be night, and for me the morning. I look forward to continuing our conversation._

 _P.S. My gut tells me you're legit because you just witness my favorite client Kirito win B.O.B_

 _~Sincerely,_

 _Seijirou Kikuoka_

Dante took a deep breath. It was a relief to him that Kikuoka was the real deal. The only issue left was to make the hard copies and send them to Japan. It would take a month which is exactly the time he had remaining prior to the first trailer release. He leaned back into his chair again staring back into the ceiling. Shutting his eyes he let sleep approach, he spent all morning on that laptop. The least he could do was keep his body in shape prior to the game's release. It may be complete, but the work is far from over.

When Dante woke up he checked his clock that hung on his south wall just above his window in front of his bed. He noticed it was 7:30 P.M. at night, panic set in his eyes as he wondered if he missed a call from Kikuoka, stumbling to pick up his phone he checked his recent calls list, and by God's grace he didn't receive any calls. He let out a sigh of relief, he didn't want to make a bad impression, it would look bad as the game creator and as an amateur representative of Maelstrom. He looked at his clock, though not to observe time. What kind of hard worker is able to take a 6-hour nap? Those are the kind of naps he hated, it wasted his entire day. A lot can be done within the course of 5 hours, in any field he could think of. He walked towards the window and watched as the classic dance of the New York City lights blinked all around. The sight of office lights turning on and off into the distance, red and blue flashing lights below as sirens wailed, twinkling lights in the night sky showing airplanes landing and taking off. It was this sight that made him decide that the final frontier would be the setting for their new game. He believed that a video game represented a creator's imagination and didn't want to be held under the sky of a single world. Suddenly his phone started to buzz, almost stubbing his toe and rushing into his desk. He observed as it was a number from out of the known district… in fact it was a Japan based number, he answered it.

"H-hello, Dante speaking." He held his arm awaiting for the reply.

"Good Evening Dante, I hope my English is okay. This is Mr. Kikuoka, you sent me an email earlier?"

"Yes Mr. Kikuoka, and don't worry your English is coming along just fine."

"Oh, good so you would like me to deliver some presents to the selected 20 players correct?" Dante took a deep breath before sitting on his bed looking out the window before closing his eyes and replied.

"That's right it's one last special thing my partner and I have decided to do prior to us releasing all sorts of teasers and the trailer, in fact, he should be preparing a post for MMO Tomorrow as we speak." There was a brief silence that made Dante's heart drop. He didn't want any speed bumps on the way towards the game. This silence continued for a brief second before Mr. Kikuoka spoke again.

"I know you're legit because you viewed the BoB later today in your time. However, there is still that 1% of me that thinks this could be some sort of hoax, and it doesn't help that you've kept this game of yours in the dark for so long. The last thing I want to do is give these individuals more trouble."

"I understand, what can I do to make you feel more comfortable?" Dante held his breath. He knew it, deep in the back of his mind the game's secrecy would somehow hurt its reputation. He rubbed his forehead wanting nothing more but just to hear Mr. Kikuoka on the phone.

"I guess if I have anything to ask, it's that I want you to try and sell it to me, not me actually buying the game, but selling the idea to me. To create the game in the magnitude you speak of in your email, you had to have had some meetings right? So sell it to me, make me interested in your product. That way I will know whether or not the clientele will enjoy the product you claim to have." Dante froze. He was not expecting something like a job interview he took a moment and recalled the photo of Mr. Kikuoka. Then he saw the two of them sitting in an office, almost like a job interview as it's set up. His fingers interlocked as his hands rest in front of his mouth. His eyes peering through his glasses directly at Dante. He felt vulnerable for the first time in a while since the game's production. What would he say? If this failed then the game wouldn't have a special meaning like SAO did. Then a moment of clarity dawned on him. Dante's eyes opened and he looked out towards the city skyline and responded to Mr. Kikuoka with a question.

"You play the famous Alfheim Online, the game where you play as fairies and can fly yes, and it, unfortunately, has a flight limit not in the case of time but of distance, yes?"

"Yes I do...what does that have to do with your game?"

"It's Simple. Have you ever stargazed before? Just lay down in a field of grass and looked at the stars? Picture that image real quick… do you see it?"

"Yes I do, it's beautiful."

"Good. Notice the moon, the zodiacal constellations, the brightest star Sirius. In all other games, GGO, ALO, SAO even, that starry night is the same, but now? It's so much more. Those are no longer far away celestial objects or balls of hot gas. Every star, every planet, everything in that night sky, is a separate adventure waiting to be unfolded by the player. Virtual Reality gaming was not made to tailor specifically to a single world, but to the imagination of its creator and I personally don't want to be grounded beneath the same blue sky. We pushed the boundaries of virtual reality gaming to where you have thousands… scratch that, millions of generated planets to explore. You craft your destiny among the stars because we didn't create a game that took place on a single world that hinders the player's imagination… for them, we created a Galaxy."

There was a moment of silence, not even the sounds of New York City were able to penetrate the void. Dante gulped and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Mr. Kikuoka finally spoke.

"A-alright then, what's the name of this game?" He asked.

"Star Wars, Knights of the Galaxy."


	3. Chapter 2: Business Trip

"Wait let me get this straight… you made it yellow?"

"N-No, more like a gold I would say."

"I thought I told you I wanted it to be a purple…"

There was a slight pause. Alex glared at Dante as they sat across the aisle of the jet they were on. Dante's father had gotten them first class on a flight to Kawagoe City. The reason being that during his phone call, Dante insisted that he give the package that contained the 20 hard copies and personally to Mr. Kikuoka. For some reason, it took 4 months to create the hard copies and get back to making the final edits for the ceremony, which they both thought was just wrong. Dante did agree with Alex that it was a bit overkill, but it is a kind gesture and definitely solidifies in killing any skepticism between them. After all, a request done in person is taken much more seriously than one done via email or phone. It has a more lasting effect. Alex still glared at his long time best friend. Of course in their time together jokes and pranks had been played though nothing to mess with the was never mad though Dante easily could see that if he answered wrong Alex would have to fight the urge to reach across the aisle and choke him. During production and gameplay, if the player chose a certain class, they were going to embark on a certain journey to earn a high rank and create their lightsaber, and the laser blade would have a certain color they could create. Dante had his and Alex's premade with the chosen hilt construction and color. However, they wanted theirs to stand out. Dante told Alex he would take care of it, and never told him.

"Dante… did you really make the blade a piss yellow!?" anger seeping from his eyes. Thankfully not speaking too loudly to interrupt any other flight guests.

"No no, not at all Alex. It's not a piss yellow, it's gold… a bit purer in its color than yellow." Alex started to stand and Dante reared back. His palms shaking side to side and a nervous expression on his face.

"Woah chill, I was just kidding! Yes, it's purple, a bit brighter than plum, pure purple. You good?"

"Yeah, Jeez don't do that to me. You sure about this guy, I would hate to have taken some plane way out to Japan just to get hoaxed. "

"Yes, everything I looked at about Mr. Kikuoka is real. I just hope he practiced a bit on his English skills." Dante said with a bit of a sly smile poking fun at Mr. Kikuoka.

"Hey easy, no making fun. Like it or not we are sort of ambassadors representing Maelstrom for the VR community. Better not provoke him in any way." Dante looked at Alex with concern though he knew Alex was right. As far as he knew, this was the first time Maelstrom interacted with anyone internationally. His father made some of the best games that could be played without the full dive hardware, whether it was the cursed Nervegear or Amusphere. Maelstrom's biggest successful categories were the MMORPG, Strategy games, and Dante did remember his father wanting to get into the FPS genre or First Person Shooter though Dante wasn't the biggest fan of such a gameplay due to the negative stereotypes he experienced with other games from other companies. Parents never checked out the games they were buying their kids and ended up giving their 7-year-old some super gory game that the game required them to shoot at either zombies, robots, even people. Dante smiled at that thought, that's why the game was created with mainly laser based weaponry. Alex agreed as well, Lasers would deal the same damage but didn't have to have guts flying or blood gushing out of the victims bodies to be an epic killing experience. Who knows how many kids were going to buy this game and Dante wanted to make sure the parents were sort of comfortable with purchasing the game. Alex told him not to worry too much about it, that is something the company can't really control and should not take up the whole idea of the game. Dante then brushed the idea off and remembered what his last email to Mr. Kikuoka was saying that he would both pick up the two of them from the Tokyo City Airport, Kawagoe City was only a 30-minute train ride from Tokyo so it was strangely convenient though more time with Kikuoka was what Dantes wanted so instead of taking the train, he asked Kikuoka to meet them there.

A technologic voice above them broke their concentration.

"Ladies and Gentlemen we are now arriving at Tokyo City International Airport, please be seated and fasten your seatbelts as we are preparing to land shortly." Alex looked and heard Dante grunt.

"Finally, a 14-hour flight finished, let's never do this again."

"I didn't know we were moving to Japan, you're alright with that then?" Alex commented.

"Shut up."

The two just laughed at one another till they felt the g-forces of the plane. Slowly coming in for a landing the plane screeching down the runway as it speed decreased, heading for terminal 9. Dante and Alex grabbed their carry-on bags that contained laptops and such to keep themselves busy on the plane. Dante's bag was slightly bigger because it was his bag that contained the 20 hard copies of the game. Each game had a note with the chosen name alias written on a red wrapped box, obviously shaped like game cases. Dante swung his bag over his shoulder grabbing his brown leather jacket he used as a pillow. Alex also had a leather jacket though it was a much heavier jacket since Alex was a bit skinnier than Dante overall it seemed that he got colder a bit more easily. He shrugged as he threw his jacket on. Dante following him out to the terminal, tried not to bump into too many people as they exited to the main waiting lounge. Both men looked around for a moment watching as families were either reunited from long trips or people getting ready to board the plane altogether. Alex pointed out two chairs to where it was close to a power outlet. It was 8:00 P.M. so it was only fair that they would wait for Mr. Kikuoka. Alex opened up his laptop and continued to post more about the game on MMO Tomorrow and checked a Youtube site under the username of Knights of the Galaxy. He and Dante only released a few videos and combined was nearly reaching five hundred million views.

"Holy Shit… The VR community is going just insane for Star Wars." Alex commented baffled by the results. Dante looked over his shoulder. watching glimpses of star fighters fly into open space and random characters engaged in combat in either fire-fights, or sword fights.

"Really? What are the top comments?"

"Let's see, we did post with international advertising being the main point so some comments I can't decipher. Here's one, _Can't believe it, Maelstrom is coming in guns blazing, SOOOO BUYING THIS GAME….Those laser swords look freaking awesome I hope they come in orange….I can dogfight in space now? Sign me up! Goodbye ALO Hello SWO."_

"SWO, Star Wars Online?" Dante asked a bit annoyed with the stereotype of all VRMMOs. Dante had a personal mission with Star Wars and that was to make it unlike any other game, unfortunately, even his creation would fall victim to the stereotypes of the world. which only partially bugged him. After all, he can't let this one little blemish halt his games march forward. Now, players were demanding it. Alex kept reading out loud comments to himself smiling and chuckling to himself at how people were going crazy just from a short trailer. It was until both of their names were called that both were driving to the man standing before them. He was in a suit with his dark gray hair and gray eyes over his typical glasses with a smile on his face. Mr. Kikuoka had arrived.

"Pleasure to meet you both in person, Dante, Alex." Both men rose from their seats and greeted Mr. Kikuoka shaking his hand with a strong grasp.

"The pleasure is ours Mr. Kikuoka. Thank you again for helping us with this special gift."

"I've got to ask gentlemen, when will the game come out, I've been busy so I haven't done much digging yet." Mr. Kikuoka asked. Dante had a grin on his face and looked towards Alex with a smile, who gave him a small thumbs up. Dante looked dead into Mr. Kikuoka's eyes.

"We release publicly in a week. My father already is behind on schedule with American Pre-orders. If sales continue to go up like that until this weekend at the Opening ceremony in game. Star Wars Online Knights of the Galaxy will be the best selling game of all time. Since sales have skyrocketed big time competitors have been trying to sneak a peek at our progress, I heard my father had to fire a few employee's." Dante proclaimed, he wasn't the type of person to toot his own horn, but the numbers were there, people wanted this game pretty badly. Alex smiled, he and Dante did work very hard on this game, it was poetic that the same person that granted the everyone the world seed was also about to get something amazing in return. Dante then raised an eyebrow and looked towards Mr. Kikuoka and prepped a question.

"If you don't mind me asking Mr. Kikuoka, do any of the recipients even know of what's coming?"

"Actually no, I know a few of them personally. I meet with them not to long ago and Klein can't seem to keep his mind off of it." The three gentlemen shared a laugh. Mr. Kikuoka led them back towards the outside, where he had parked in a nearby garage. Dante felt a huge pressure lifted from his shoulders, Mr. Kikuoka he could now trust knowing all that he was going through to help him and Alex. It took a bit of walking but they found Mr. Kikuoka's silver sedan as he unlocked the car and had Dante and Alex put their bags in his rather empty trunk. Soon afterward Alex attempted to open the front left side door and found the steering wheel and the driver seat. It took him a moment and Mr. Kikuoka looked at him a bit puzzled to realize his mistake. Alex simply replied whispering to himself in embarrassment, "oh yeah, shit my bad." Dante and Mr. Kikuoka both shared a laugh as they proceeded to get into the vehicle and head straight for Kawagoe City. The car ride was mainly silent as both Dante and Alex proceed to tinker away on their laptops. Mr. Kikuoka was impressed, these boys seemed no older than 28, and they are acting like professionals. Though he will be the first to admit the silence was rather awkward.

"So, how did you guys reach the conclusion to give the hard copies to the SAO Survivors?" He asked.

"I actually am one Mr. Kikuoka." His eyes shot towards Alex, his heartbeat dropped.

"W-What?! I thought there were no American players on SAO, it was released in Japan with only 10,000 players!"

"I was visiting Tokyo when it happened, I picked up one of the rare hard copies and started playing one day. When I was trapped the American government requested they send me back. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital bed, with 2 years lost inside SAO. Dante treated me with a night on the town when I got home." Dante smiled, he remembered that day, how could he forget. Alex was so weak, weaker than he had ever been from any illness he fell to, nothing but skin and bone like a holocaust victim without the dirt and bruises all over his body. Therapy took weeks before they could do anything they wanted to. Dante didn't want to think back to what occurred those few weeks with Alex trying best to focus on the game's upcoming release. The world demanded it.


	4. Chapter 3: It Came Wrapped In A Bow

Kirito's mind was focused on the clouds of Alfheim once again. Every quest was the same now. Fight a bunch of monsters and find a few secret weapons, or set out on a quest to complete a community task. He sat up taking a quick glance at his friends below the mushroom tower he had always sat on top of when he and Asuna wanted to spend time together. Silica, Lisbeth, Klein, and Suguha as Leafa, were all teaming up against another monster that looked like something from greek mythology. A chimera to be exact. Kirito understood the mythology and thought it had only 3 heads at the front. A lion, a goat and a dragon with wings. This one, however, had no wings but a long tail with a venomous viper head at its rear.

It's viper head snapping its massive fangs towards Lisbeth, while Klein dealt with the lion's roaring head and claws. Silica had kept her distance from the dragon's head, and Leafa was playing carefully with the Goat head that spewed fire from its mouth. The beast roared and rotated by side stepping, causing each player to deal with a new head amongst the beast. Though even as the beast switched over and over on the four warriors it still had an exploitable weakness. Range and distance. Something Sinon had taken advantage of heavily atop another mushroom tower. Arrow after arrow was shot and made contact with the Chimera's body sending it into a flurry of outraged strikes and roars. It looked around intending on discovering where the shots were coming from. Sinon had already had drawn her bow once more. Her sights dead on the shoulder of the animal. Where slightly above the Goat's head snarled towards Klein. The arrow soared from her bow and landed a direct hit on the animal's shoulder.

Outraged it focused its full attention on Sinon as it discovered her location. It made a strong leap on top of the mushroom and landed in front of Sinon. She backed up to the edge of the mushroom and attempted to fly off, only for the Viper head to lunge itself and sink its fangs into her calf. She winced and hollered in pain, catching Kirito's full attention. He leaped from his mushroom and with his iconic scream, drew Excalibur, and sliced the head of the viper clean off. Causing it to disintegrate in its classic animation style. The beast roared with pain as it turned to face its new challenger. The goat breathing fire towards Kirito as he immediately jumped out of the way. The Chimera followed leaping towards Kirito, only to be smashed by Lisbeth's mace from above, cracking the skull of the lion's head. The dragon snapped its jaws at her, only for the rest of the party to attack while vulnerable in the air. After many arrows and slashes, the creature's health bar went to zero. Disintegrating before it even crashed into the ground. Klein was the first to land and watched his earnings increase for helping the party slay a powerful monster. Kirito was always secretly amused by Klein and his behavior sometimes.

"Woohoo! Alright, another beast down! Klein roared in excitement flexing his muscles. His katana raised high in the air. Lisbeth and Silica landed together just taunting at Klein as usual. Sinon, on the other hand, examined her calf. As it showed the poisoned icon by her name. Slowly it decreased her health as she staggered to her feet. Leafa attended to her wound asking if she was alright.

"I'm fine, it just stings." Sinon said, watching as Leafa's potion removed the poison from her body.

"Better to treat it now than later." She argued back.

Kirito landed onto the ground as well just sighing as he thought of Asuna. Who could not join their party today due to a family trip they were having. Kirito never caught the reason why they left only that they were leaving. He smiled as everyone celebrated. Only Yui broke his concentration.

"Daddy, are you okay?" she asked in her pixie form.

"Oh, um yes I am fine Yui. I just miss Mommy is all."

"Oh, I see. Well, don't worry I'm sure she will be back soon!" Yui always had a way of cheering people up when they were feeling down. It's what she was programmed to do. Kirito's affections for Asuna needed no explaining. The amount they went through together from being trapped in Aincrad to the pain inflicted by Sugou. Their love seemed unmatched. Even with the harem that seemed to compete with her. Kirito's mind just couldn't be cleared of Asuna. Even if his birthday was around the corner. He will be turning 18. Suddenly a chime rang in his ears and a message popped up. Kirito looked down, with disgust. It was from Mr. Kikuoka.

 _Kirito~_

 _I would like to meet up with you very soon. Let's meet at the entrance of that same delicious restaurant we always loved to meet. Though I can't stay for long there is some more work I need to attend to. There is something I need to give you, and don't worry it isn't another assignment. It will come with instructions from the sender. He requested that YOU would be the first of the very selected few to obtain it._

 _Mr. Kikuoka_

 _P.S. Open it around those you trust, and hopefully, with you turning 18 soon, you will still be able to keep your hormones in check._

"Asshole…" Kirito murmured to himself. What could Kikuoka want to give him, and who was this mystery package from. Klein's arm suddenly wrapped around Kirito's shoulder. A classic move by him that Kirito never got used to. His same smile stretched from cheek to cheek as the others followed him.

"Kirito, I think we've earned a few drinks and such ad Agil's place tonight, what do you say?"

"Yeah it will be fun!" Chimed in Silica.

"I can't Mr. Kikuoka and I have to meet."

"Tell him to wait, another assignment can hold off until you have some R&R." Lisbeth proclaimed. Kirito could use the break. But Mr. Kikuoka always had important business. The last assignment he was forced to take on concerned the safety and well-being of all VRMMO players after the Death Gun incident. Nevertheless, Kirito needed to see what exactly Mr. Kikuoka was wanting to give him.

"He said it wasn't any assignment, just a package from some random person."

"Hasn't this guy ever heard of mail?" Leafa joked.

"Guess not… But I will try to make it back with you all!" With that, Kirito and the rest of the party exchanged their temporary farewells. Kirito logged off his nervegear, his conscious returning to the real world. Always looking straight up at his gray ceiling. Slowly he removed the virtual diving gear from his head and placed it onto his pillow. Kirito scratched the back of his head, playing with his disheveled hair.

"What does he want now." He asked to himself.

Dante sat looking out towards the city of Tokyo. Sitting in the office chair provided by his hotel room watching the city teem with life. His fingers and hands rested on the side of his face as he sat contemplating. Thinking, and drinking. His glass of whiskey sat next to him on the wood table that only had a little bit left in the glass. Along with 3 Ice cubes to provide a cold chill that can be felt down in his chest when he took a sip. The city was so jam packed together, claustrophobic. Like one of the planets that he and Alex took some time specially designing. Everyone was shoulder to shoulder trying to do whatever they needed to do to get their duties done. Dante just sighed and took another sip of his whiskey. The spiced taste burned the back of his throat, while the chill impacted in his chest as it reached further into his system.

Alex then walked in bringing back some Japanese take out. He set Dante's meal contained in a plastic shop bag, down next to his drink. Alex frowned at the sight of his friend with whiskey. When they both turned 21, Dante went on a crazy drinking spree. Almost becoming a full alcoholic. The bottle was his best friend. It took the crisis of Sword Art Online to fully help realize his solitude that was gifted by that said bottle.

"Already an Alcoholic again I see." Alex commented.

"Trapped in my mind, I hope we did the right thing." Dante argued.

"We already discussed the hard copies, no way we're getting them back now."

"Not that… The Artificial Intelligence programmed we designed." Alex's words stopped. That was a whole different issue. The game had an A.I. program generator that could imply real-time emotions and thinking algorithms to the game generated characters. Making the player feel and believe that they were speaking with other players. When in fact, they weren't. The debate sparked between the team of programmers, Alex, Dante, and his Father halfway into production. The argument was that A.I. in mass could present multiple running issues with the game when played. Others believed it to be nonsense, and that the new prototype super processors that ran Maelstrom could handle such data.

They definitely could. Other games just weren't being played anymore by Maelstrom sense VR came into play. Shutting down their prior games to support a single massive one, was like putting all their eggs in one basket. Had it not been for the massive public demand for the game since the trailer released 3 weeks prior, the company would have been in an economic decline. Alex then opened up his laptop next to his seafood dinner. Eating away at the sushi and shrimp he re-opened the MMO sites and Youtube link unprepared to see that the views have doubled.

"We already agreed to do it. Can't change that now. Jesus… hope they like the game." Alex commented.

"Yep otherwise it will be the biggest video game upset of all time. We have to restrict the opening ceremony to the first 200 players that join." Dante remembered looking at the websites prior this afternoon. He immediately contacted his father and thankfully, he was one step ahead of Dante, applying the limit prior to the creation of the hard copies. Dante just took another sip of his whiskey before chuckling a bit. Catching Alex's attention.

"Well, the first 180 that is… the 20 hard copy receivers are invited." Dante chuckled knowing full well that a few seats had to be reserved for those hard copies.

"Who will we sit next to?"

"We are hosting the ceremony, remember? First Dinner, then musical entertainment, A few speeches here and there… then the game begins."

"Oh yeah right, when are you supposed to dive tonight?" Alex asked. Dante is going to do a test dive. Seeing how the game reacts One last attempt to fix anything any connection bugs they could possibly have. In order to complete this, he needed another connection. Another player. Alex would always be this player two in this situation. However, Dante wanted to get a little, risky.

" 8:00 P.M. Me and Kirito will finally meet face to face. Hope he isn't creeped out by white rooms."

Kirito was walking towards The Dicey Cafe'. He held in his hand a small red wrapped box with a golden bow. His name was also on a small card that was taped shut onto the wrapping paper, but it read his name in English. A class he was able to take and still learn after Sword Art Online. This confused Kirito. Someone knew who he was and gave him something with an English card. Kirito didn't know anyone who was American, or who wrote English. He wanted to at least open it around some company he could trust. That is, after all, what Mr. Kikuoka advised in his message. Yet back at the restaurant, he acted calm, intent on giving it to him no matter what.

Kirito opened the doorway to The Dicey Cafe'. The creaking door gave himself away as Agil looked towards Kirito with the same smile that met him every time they entered. Klein and Lisbeth were sitting next to each other at the same table where Sinon once finally accepted herself as a strong woman. Sinon sat next to Silica, who sat next to Lisbeth as always. Kazuto just smiled as his group of friends. Suguha was waiting for him by the door. It was rather fortunate that they were the only ones in the Dicey cafe tonight.

"Hey Kazuto, we saved you a seat!"

"Oh thanks, Sugu." Kirito walked and planted himself by Klein and Suguha sat next to him. The red-wrapped package laying on his lap. Still having no idea what it was. It was thin and light. Yet pristinely wrapped.

"So what did Mr. Kikuoka want?" Agil asked from the bar. Kirito was a bit shocked and annoyed. Not wanting to bring up the gift from the mystery sender right away. He placed it on the table. It's gold bow was reflecting light all around. Its tint and glitter reflecting in everyone's eyes. The ruby red wrapping paper appeared to be glowing. The note reading Kirito's name with a neatly written English cursive font.

"A.. gift? The guy is a bit weird to be giving out a gift like that." Lisbeth asked with a sarcastic look of disapproval.

"Yeah he seems kinda, creepy." Silica said.

"It wasn't from Mr. Kikuoka." Kirito announced.

"Then who sent it?" Suguha asked.

"Someone who knows English… and who knows about me."

"Okay?" Klein asked though slightly attracted by the present's presentation. Agil now curious moved behind Klein and Kirito. Not really having to bend forward to see it due to his massive size. Kirito reached for the present and removed the note from it. Softly opening it. He read along the lines of the note, written the same cursive font as the front. Kirito's eyes followed the words carefully deciphering them. He was in disbelief.

 _Dear Kirito,_

 _Congratulations for your victory in the latest Bullet of Bullets Tournament. However, that is not why you are receiving this gift. You saved the life of a good friend of mine after you beat Sword Art Online. For that I am in your debt, consider this gift as payment. If you want to meet me in person, You will log on tonight at 8:00 P.M., Everything else will be set in motion for you to meet not only myself but the person you saved. We would be honored if you would join us._

 _With Gratitude,_

 _Dante Alexander Russo._

Kirito gasped slightly. Catching everyone's attention. Kirito knew exactly who Dante Russo was. Son of Bryan Russo, Maelstrom's C.E.O and also owned a shipping company in America. But why was he contacting him? Who did he save that apparently was a good friend of Dantes' to begin with? Kirito took a minute to look at the package he received from Dante. His hand pulling at the strings of the bow and tossing it onto the table. Tearing away at the red wrapping paper. Underneath was a black plastic case with gold letters. 4 of the 8 letters were connected to each other. Underneath was a massive space ship with fighters all flying up to it. Ships were of different design firing off green, red, and blue blasts of lasers towards each other. All hovering on what looked like a massive battlefield from beneath. Alone stood a silhouetted figure who was wielding a glowing blue blade. Heavily resembling the photon swords from Gun Gale Online. What he held in his hand shocked everyone. Their eyes nearly popping out of their own heads. What was written on the case?

Star Wars Knights of the Galaxy.

"What!?" Screamed everyone. Klein was the first to speak after.

"Kirito, D-do you know what that is!?" he screamed.

"No way, it's that game MMO Stream is going nuts over. It's sold over 1 million pre-order copies online already!" Agil exclaimed.

"I didn't even know there were any hard copies!" Suguha pronounced.

"There are no hard copies… it's all online. It has to be a fake." Sinon exclaimed. The possibility wasn't out there. If Dante didn't send this whoever sent it went to great distances just to prank Kirito. He looked at the game's case. Bearing Maelstrom's logo and everything. It seemed like a legitimate game. Even held the black cartridge that read the gold lettering of the same game title.

"But the note says it's from Dante, isn't that the guy who created the game?" Silica asked.

"People can forge someone else's signatures easily though, remember that." Lisbeth added.

Kirito kept thinking. If it was a trap what could he possibly be walking into? Maybe a virus of some kind that could corrupt his computer and nervegear? Either way, he was sure that it was no ruse. It mentioned how Kirito saved Dante's friend from Sword Art Online, and that's something no one took very lightly. He just placed the note in his pocket and stood up from the table. Everyone's eyes glued to him. Reaching for the game and heading for the door.

"Still… I'm going to check it out. Dante apparently claims that I saved a good friend of his. I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to joke about that. What time is it now?"

"Unfortunately it's almost 7:30… I don't think you will have the time to head home and get set up." Agil exclaimed.

"Shit, then I gotta go!" Kirito took a moment to say goodbye to everyone, just before Suguha jumped from her seat after him. Grabbing him by the arm stopping Kirito dead in his tracks. He looked back to see her eyes with concern written all over them.

"Be careful Kirito. I will be home soon enough to make sure everything goes alright." She told her cousin.

"Thank you, Sugu. But I will be okay!"

Dante held his Nervegear in his hands. It's scratched surface had a few dents on the side reminding Dante of the outrage he had when Sword Art Online first took Alex. He remembered it clearly. Tossing it around his room. Roaring in anger at what the VR community had done. Now, he had created its most anticipated game. He looked at the clock, reading 7:50 P.M. It was almost time to dive. Alex made sure he hooked up everything to his computer that he had brought along. How he got it to fit in his suitcase along with his clothes was beyond Dante's imagination.

He slowly adjusted the nerve gear onto his head and laid down onto the hotel's bed. Stretching his body to be as comfortable as possible. Laying flat on the mattress. Alex gave him the thumbs up as he loaded the application in. The hum of the computer and Dante's nervegear was his green light.

Kirito raced up to his room opening the game and taking a good look at the cartridge that was supposed to contain the game. Last chance to back out. Though how could he? Something in the back of his mind told him to go through with it. He set his nervegear back onto his head and laid down on his bed. He closed his eyes taking a deep breath. His heart racing. He then opened his eyes and decided just to go with it.

Both Dante and Kirito then announced,

"Link start!"


	5. Chapter 4: World of Storms and Water

Kirito suddenly opened his eyes. The air around him felt a bit cold. A slow and humming noise could be heard all around him. He looked down as he always had prior when starting games, finding himself sitting down. The room was large. Oval in shape with beige walls that curved upward, like half of a football. Below was black luminescent tile with white lines. The lines all originating from a single white circle at the center of the room. Long red booth leather seats followed the outline of the room. Kirito then looked at where he was sitting. A throne of sorts. The same rich red leather ran along the booths as well as on the throne. The thrones arms were made of a smooth marble that spread outward to allow the occupant room to move.

Kirito took a moment to stand. Feeling a sort of momentum that is propelling him forward. He walked forward. Each foot of his landing on the tile echoed softly in the room. He looked at what he was wearing. A dark blue jacket with buttons running up his body with golden wrist cuffs. The same gold was on his shoulders that ran up to his collar bone. The same dark blue was on his pants with a black belt with a gold clip. A pair of black boots complemented his older avatar styles. Looking into the soft reflections of the floor tile, he had remained completely unchanged.

Continuing his walk. He slowly approached the end of the room which held a beige door with a translucent curve window that was blurred at the bottom. The door suddenly slid open to the right. Leading to a small beige circle elevator shaped room with a similar door. He took one step forward and the door opened sliding towards the left. He found himself in what he figured was the cockpit. Telling him instantly he was aboard a ship of some kind. However, no one was piloting it.

He looked out the window. A mixture of white, blue, and black colors danced around him and the ship. He could also barely spot the sharp pointed nose of the ship as well. A shiny chrome seemed to be the hull of the entire ship. Kirito just looked around a bit more. The detail so far presented was pristine. Phenomenal.

Suddenly his attention was geared to a small green visor at one of the cockpit's terminals. He looked at it closely displaying the exterior of the ship. The main body looked like a sword, with what Kirito had guessed was its twin engines on either side. The engines had a small compartment that was blinking a lime green hue. Kirito knelt forward with his left hand on the chair to look at the screen more closely.

-CUTTING SUBLIGHT ENGINES... DISENGAGING HYPERDRIVE-

"Sublight Engines? Hyperdrive?"

Kirito looked upwards in curiosity. Suddenly the humming sound of what he now assumed were the engines, stopped. The mixture of colors suddenly turned into a bright white flash. Then the mixture became long lines around him that came from the epicenter. Directly to where the ship's nose was pointed. A large low tone boom noise suddenly echoed softly into his ears. The velocity change, on the other hand, was not so soft. Kirito was then flung forward suddenly. His body crashed into the console and soon onto the floor. Getting up from the fall, groaning to himself. "Ow. Damn it…" Kirito muttered to himself.

He noticed that now he was in the depths of space. Stars littered around him and the ship now. Also noticing that he was apparently in route to a random planet. Kirito's mouth opened wide. The planet looked very much real. Even to the weather patterns from orbit. Kirito took in that the entire planet was a dull combination of blue and dark gray. With what looked like Storms all over the planet, and was covered in oceans. Kirito then made the wise decision to take a seat in the cockpit. Noticing that the ship was engaged in autopilot mode. He kept his hands off of the controls. Deciding it would be best to strap himself into the seat.

As the ship began to descend, Kirito could feel the force of gravity attracting both himself and his mystery starship. The hum of the engines began to be blocked out by the pitter patter of raindrops. His ship road above the raging oceans below. Out in the distance all he could see were waves and lightning bolts. Until something else appeared into view. An arrangement of large buildings that were mounted on stilts that sunk into the water. Dark blue, yellow and few red lights were all that indicated its presence from afar. The buildings themselves were like domes, with long skyscraper-like like towers erecting above them. Kirito was transfixed by all of this. Even to the point of forgetting the apparent risks he had taken.

He felt the ship began to reduce speed. Landing gear from the ship fell from the nose and sides of the ship below the two massive engines. With a thud, the ship had landed onto one of the landing pads. The sound of rain amplified underneath Kirito. He unbuckled from his seat and went back towards the door. Figuring it also functioned as an elevator. His suspicions were correct, as he found a panel with a glowing downward facing arrow to his right. Touching its smooth screen, the lift took him to the level below. The lift was very smooth and opened up the same way. He took notice of the technology to his right side; and the open hatch to his left. Leading to the pouring rain outside. Along with a conveniently placed brown hooded cloak hanging beside it. Kirito didn't argue, taking the cloak and putting it on before stepping out onto the pouring rain. He stopped and was shocked to feel the realism of each and every droplet. Just like in the real world, it was cold and he began to get soaked. He then noticed a doorway open at the end of the Landing pad. He ran for it. Feeling cold from the rain. He looked back at the large starship that took him to his destination.

"Guess I got some kind of first class ride to this place… wherever the hell it is." He walked into the hallway. The whole place was a cream like white. With bright lights emitting from the walls. The floors were almost like mirrors, reflecting the light and a blurred mirrored view of himself. With a tint of gray, it seemed to be one single massive piece of flooring. With white lines not too far from the curved walls. To his right was darkness. The lights were all shut off, and he couldn't see far off into the large hallway. The left, on the other hand, was fully illuminated. Walking left gave him a sort of chill.

Each footstep echoed softly down the hallway. Being extra cautious now more than ever. The bright light that was in front of him soon faded into what looked like a dead end. He stopped confused. Yet his instincts told him to keep moving forward. His left hand reached out towards the wall. Hesitating on touching anything in this sketchy place. Then with a soft noise, three curved panels moved away. Resembling in the dorsal fins of fish. Kirito stepped back, analyzing the environment first before he entered. A small room with a table was revealed. The table itself was white, matching the designs that were on the floor. Three circles were illuminated around the table on said floor as well. Suddenly the doorway behind him closed, forcing his heart to beat fast.

Then a door to his right opened. Preparing for the worst, Kirito took a defensive stance. Two equally sharped dressed men walked out from the doorway. Hell, they were wearing the same thing. One was slightly taller than the other. His short Dark hair was parted to the left. His brown eyes meeting Kirito's own. Kirito could tell they were both in good shape from their body shape. The other man bore short wavy black hair that complimented his Hispanic appeal. Kirito just stood regularly again. One of them finally broke this silence and made Kirito feel a bit more comfortable.

"You must be Kirito?" The taller gentlemen asked. Standing in front of him with both of his hand held together behind his back. A confident smile looked towards Kirito.

"Y-Yes, my name is Kirito." He replied rather cautiously. The gentlemen presented his open hand towards Kirito.

"Dante Russo, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in the flesh, er, so to speak." Dante chuckled to himself. Kirito took a second, but he finally shook Dante's hand. The other gentlemen soon followed up.

"My name is Alex Kennedy. I must thank you for getting all of us out of Sword Art Online." Kirito shook his hand much quicker, feeling comfortable that the people were very much legit. Though something just clicked.

"Thanks it's really… wait, you're American?! I didn't know there were international players." Kirito exclaimed shocked to even find this to be remotely true.

"I was in Tokyo when I bought the game, decided to give it a go… then like everyone else's story, couldn't log out. I was brought back home shortly after." Alex explained.

"But, how did you not disconnect? How did you remain in the game while traveling overseas?"

"Fair questions, but let's talk while sitting, that's much more comfortable than standing around here!" Alex suggested. Suddenly three chairs had emerged from the ceiling. Raindrop in design, they twirled downward until barely touching the ground. Dante and Alex began to sit down closest to the right door. Kirito watched his chair fall next to him, taking a minute he sat down. The chair was rather comfortable. Even though it matched the creepy white room design.

"Would you like any refreshments Kirito?" Dante asked.

"Um, water perhaps?"

"On a water world planet with constant storms? Funny." Alex joked. Kirito just blinked until he got the joke. Softly chuckling to himself. The door opened behind Kirito, catching his attention. Out from the light walked in a humanoid figure carrying a silver tray with perfectly cylinder glasses. One contained water, the other two contained sweet tea each topped with a lemon. However, this caterer was not human, it was a machine. Gold plating nearly all around except for its midsection. Which contained many, many wires. Its arms were stuck at a 90-degree angle. Walking for it seemed to be restricted as the robot could not take long strides. Its eyes were perfectly circular. With black dots at its center to replicate pupils. His mouth was a perfect open rectangle, and its nose was flat with an arrow head shape. Kirito could see how it moved. Stiff yet simple. It lowered the platter in front of Kirito. Almost making him drop his glass when he spoke.

"Good evening sir!" The robot exclaimed happily.

"Y-you can talk?!"

"Of course, I can talk! I am fluent in over 6 Million different forms of communication!" The robot further explained. Kirito just stared at the robot for a second. Before it trotted towards Alex and Dante who both happily accepted their tea.

"Oh, Master Alex, Master Dante! How delightful it is to see you again!"

"Kirito, this is C-3PO. A protocol droid." Dante announced.

"Protocol droid?" Kirito asked.

"Robots designed for etiquette and protocol for the races." Kirito listened very carefully. He wanted to know more about the game that only had a few days left until release. After taking a sip of his water, he stopped to relish it. Kirito once told Asuna that the difference between the virtual world and real world was the amount of data. But there was little to no difference here. The water tasted like real water. The table felt real… all of it. Seemed all too real.

"Races? Like ALO and the different player races?"

"Absolutely not. We didn't agree on that aspect. The game has thousands of different species, some of which will not speak English."

"How do you communicate with them then?"

"There is a translation skill that can be learned. Unlike Sword Art Online every player can learn all skills. Though like Sword Art Online, You will have to practice them to perfect them. Or you can have a protocol droid assist you." Dante said. C-3PO walked away with his tray into the right room opening softly and closing. Kirito had to admit, everything seemed pretty solid. Everything was simple to the most part until Kirito remembered something and brought it up. C-3PO had remembered who Alex and Dante were, he didn't think too much of it. Yui was very similar. Curiosity pulled the question out of him.

"I noticed that C-3P0 remembered you both. He recognized and called you both by Master, other Artificial intelligence programs that I have encountered just reacted. Without any sort of advanced thinking parameters." Kirito asked.

"It's not just C-3PO, all of the A.I. in the game has that kind of programming!" Alex explained. Kirito nearly spat his water out of his mouth, choking on it in fact. Only able to swallow it just to breathe softly. The A.I. in Yui was seemly large, but if all available characters had this kind of programming the game would be too huge to download. He did know that Maelstrom had significant computing power. They specialized in large RPG games. He heard they cleared everything to hold this game.

"It never was the galaxy in itself that was consisting so much bulk of the data, it was all the species and their A.I Programs." Dante explained.

"How are players going to download something that big?" Kirito asked.

"Special files we created back home. Able to condense files and data to be interpreted by the software the player is running as a smaller file. The bulk of everything is back home, but Star Wars Online will open data channel ways. In which the players' software can read and still use said data. It's core programming isn't changing. So we thought it would be easier to just have it be here and read by anything." Alex said. Dante had to admit it was a stroke of genius. The ability to have millions of computers read and use the same file at once was something that saved the game early production. Otherwise, the game would have been at least a few terabytes of data. No one would want to buy a game that takes up two computers worth of data.

"That's impressive!" Kirito added. Dante nodded. Taking another sip of his tea. Kirito also took another sip of his water. Dante took a glance at Kirito in the light. His smile then faded into a serious expression. Alex looked towards Dante and sat up straight.

"Kirito, There is also another reason why I invited you tonight." Dante acknowledged. Kirito's attention was geared to Dante. Who sat with his fingers entangled resting in front of his mouth. Kirito felt the urge of seriousness from Dante. Adjusting his gaze to look at Alex, who was smiling and looking towards Dante. Out of the two Alex was more of someone who could have a little bit of fun, while Dante when the situation called for it, meant business. Kirito stood up straight.

"You are not the only one who will receive hard copies of our game. At least 19 more are on their way to their recipients. Before the game's official launch there will be an opening ceremony, the hard copy recipients are invited. MMO Stream has just been updated prior to Alex logging in." Dante then held his hand open, fingers and thumb together, and held it still for only a few seconds. In front of him, the Administrator Menu opened.

It was sharp resembling something like SAO's menu. More menu options than normal, about 8. 5 on each side. The largest button at the top was "Resume" followed by "Items", "Communication", "Settings", and to Kirito's enjoyment, "Logout". Kirito needed not to explain his dismay with that word. Nor did any other Sword Art Online survivor. Kirito actually held his hand in the same position. Holding for only a few seconds, and viewing his player menu. Seeing only those five buttons. The other five were much more geared towards the Game Masters and Administrators. "System Management", "Administrative Commands", and "A.I. and Environmental Interaction level control". Kirito compared the two, ignoring the 3 Administrator commands, though one stuck to him. He watched as Dante accessed "Administrative Commands, and suddenly his data and menu were blurred from Kirito. Suddenly a glowing mail icon blinked three times, adding in three single chimes to the blinking as well. Kirito opened the message for it contained a specially labeled item.

"Opening Ceremony Kyber Pass?" Kirito read, observing its contents.

"That's your way into the ceremony. The Ceremony is being held worldwide, the correct time schedule for you to log on will be on MMO Stream. That way we can get you to the Ceremony before it opens up to the public." Alex advised.

"Are there any more questions you wanted to ask?" Dante looked at Kirito with that same serious face. Kirito just replied with the same game plan as just prior.

"No sir."

"Alright then, Kirito. It has been a pleasure to speak with you. Now then, Tomorrow we have a flight to catch back home. We will see you and the rest of our guests on Saturday at the ceremony."

Kirito's vision suddenly began to blurt to a full white. He knew exactly what was going on. Forced logout. He always considered it rude at one point. Though given the time with his logout function not working… he gladly accepted it. He opened his eyes to find his gray ceiling again. Out of curiosity, he looked at his clock. It was only 8:20

"That felt like at least an hour and a half long… wonder who else got hard copies." Kirito asked himself.


End file.
